I’ve been craving chili ever since I went camping last month so on Monday I cracked open my copy of The Best of America’s Test Kitchen. I adapted their recipe for light turkey chili slightly but was surprised how easy it was to make. It took 20 minutes to get everything in the pot, then cooked for 1 hour and 40 minutes. The recipe served six hungry people and cost me about $10.65 to make.

Ingredients

2 onions, chopped small

1 red or green pepper, chopped medium

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup chili powder

1 tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1/2-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tsp dried oregano

1/8-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (this provides the heat, along with the red pepper flakes. I used 1/8 tsp and the chili had a small bite to it)

1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

Salt

1-1.5 pounds ground turkey (93% fat free)

2 15-ounce cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (I only had diced tomatoes and it turned out fine)

2 c chicken broth

2 lime wedges for serving (optional)

Directions

Put onions, peppers, spices and oil in large Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pan. Cook over medium-low heat, covered, for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables are softened.

Add half your ground turkey and turn up to medium heat. Stir until just about to brown, then add in beans, tomatoes, broth and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for one hour, uncovered.

Mush the rest of the turkey into small meatballs and pinch off nickel-sized lumps into the chili, stirring lightly so raw meat is covered. Continue to simmer about 40 minutes. If chili sticks to bottom of pot, add 1/2 c water. Salt to taste.

Cornbread

Follow the directions on the box of cornmeal to make cornbread, which is surprisingly easy. My 8 x8 pan of cornbread took 25 minutes to cook, so you can do this at the very end.

Homemade chili and cornbread dotted with butter and honey is awfully close to heaven. What recipes have you cooked this week?